This invention relates to a novel and economical process to react alkali metal silicates with lignin-cellulose-containing plants to produce alkali metal lignin-cellulose silicate polymers, which are highly reactive chemically with various organic and inorganic chemicals, e.g., aldehydes, furan compounds, isocyanates, polyisocyanates, polyurethane prepolymers, polyisocyanate, silicate prepolymers, ketones, vinyl acetate, acrylic acid monomers, allyl halides, polyfunctioning alkylating agents, monofunctional alkylating agents, acrylate compounds, acrylic acid compounds with other vinyl monomers, epihalohydrins with polyamines, polyepoxy compounds with polyamines, sulfur, silicon halides, organic polyhalides, monoepoxy compounds, aldehydes with phenols, aldehydes with amino compounds, vinyl acetate with other vinyl monomers, halohydrins and mixtures thereof.
Plants may be first treated by any of the methods known in the arts, to remove the lignin, and then be reacted with the alkali metal silicate to produce alkali metal silicate polymers which are highly reactive chemically with the various organic and inorganic chemicals listed above.
The alkali metal lignin-cellulose silicate polymer and alkali metal cellulose silicate polymer may be utilized in the production of novel, useful resinous and foam products which may be used as coating agents for wood, metals and plastics, as adhesives, as impregnates, as thermal- and sound-insulating material and as molding powder. The alkali metal lignin-cellulose silicate polymer and alkali metal cellulose silicate polymer may be reacted with a salt-forming compound, e.g., mineral acids and organic acid to produce lignin-cellulose silicate polymer and cellulose silicate polymer which may be used as fillers in paints, varnishes, putties, to etc.; the lignin-cellulose silicate polymer and cellulose silicate polymer may be chemically reacted with polyisocyanate, polyurethane prepolymers, polyisocyanates, silicate prepolymers, aldehydes, aldehydes with amino compounds, aldehydes with phenol compounds, epoxy compounds, polyepoxy compounds and other organic compounds to produce novel and useful resins to be used as molding powder, coating agents, fillers, etc.
In the process according to the invention, at least two components are used to produce the novel alkali metal lignin-cellulose silicate polymer as follows:
1. Component A: an alkali metal silicate;
2. Component B: a lignin-cellulose-containing plant.